Promises Made And Broken
by SPOTTY
Summary: *MORE ADDED! *A dancer named Penny finds her run-away foster son, Ben, in a newsies lodging house.There,will she find a group to change her cruel ways,and make them forget an unhappy incident, and maybe fall in love?R&R!
1. Running Away From Everything.

For Starters: I know this doesn't sound Newsies related for the first, very short, chapters. But it shall get more into them! I swear on Kid Blink's eyes! *Crosses heart* Why, I even bet my life on Racetrack. Yessirree. So there. Please R & R pals! I love you! MUAH!  
  
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Chapter 1  
  
Promises Made And Broken  
  
Katie Louden  
  
Ben Wood trudged through the muddy streets of New York. The rain was coming down in hard clumps as it slowly began turning into hail. He covered his face and dashed underneath the awning of "The Vienna Model Bakery". He peered through the downpour and up at the cloudy sky. Everything in his life was looking a lot like the sky, dark and dreary. His foster Mother, Penny, was always out working, he got kicked out of school for smoking in the bathroom, his real Father had recently died, and everything just seemed so wrong.  
  
Ben stood about 5 foot, 3 inches, at his age of 14. He had curly, brown hair and his face was cluttered with tiny freckles. He hated himself. He wanted to just never have been born, or at least have been born with a decent life. He made a fist and pounded his other hand. Thoughts of his real Mother clouded his mind all the time. He remembered, at the age of 10, when she had tucked him into his bed and told him to be good and to always stay away from the shit that comes out of nowhere. Ben always thought about it and couldn't understand why he didn't get that she was leaving when he was 10. She had never said anything or tucked him in. It was the first and last time. She hadn't even said "I love you".  
  
His real Father, Joe Wood, hadn't even been in his life. His foster Mother had met Joe at the workplace, "Irving Hall", and had invited him to dinner one night. Coincidentally, Joe had been working backstage all the time Ben thought he was gone. Ben had seen his Father and knew right away. He visited him often, but Ben didn't go to the funeral. He thought it was just too strange to see a grave of someone you didn't know.  
  
Now Ben was running away. He was running from Penny, school, his Fathers' grave, his past with his Mother, and from everything. He wanted to start a new life.  
  
"Ay, ya got a smoke?"  
  
Ben flung around to face a black-haired, brown-eyed, ruggedly dressed newsie. "Huh?"  
  
"Name's Racetrack," he said. He stuck his hand out and Ben stared at it. "OK. Well, ya got a smoke kid?" he repeated, retrieving his hand.  
  
Ben shook his head, "No. And my name's Ben. What kind of name is Racetrack?"  
  
Racetrack chuckled, "It's da kind'a name ya give ta someone who likes goin' to da racetracks. Dat's who."  
  
Ben nodded, turning back around. He glanced back at Racetrack and realized he wasn't wet. "It's raining," Ben pointed out.  
  
Racetrack's eyes beamed and he laughed, "Yeah, dat's obvious." He thought for a minute. "Oh, why am I dry? I see… Well, I just came from da Bakery." He motioned to the door he had emerged from. "Dey wouldn't let me stay inside till da rain passed, so I'm waitin' out here."  
  
"Right." Ben faced the streets. A wagon slowly passed by and a few people ran to their homes, splashing water on Ben and Racetrack.  
  
"Ya got a place?" Racetrack asked Ben, not even realizing he'd been splashed.  
  
Ben shook his head and then shrugged. "I did," he simply replied.  
  
"Family troubles?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Ya ain't much a talkin' are…"  
  
"Just leave me alone." Ben crossed his arms and wished Racetrack would run out into the rain and go away.  
  
Racetrack did just the opposite. "Me and da newsies got ourselves a lodgin' house. If ya want ta stay with us we won't mind. Der was a big fire near 'ere and a few'a da guys…" He trailed off and then stated, "We's got's extra beds."  
  
Ben opened his mouth to say something, but stopped himself. "Thanks."  
  
Racetrack stood beside him and looked from left to right. "Looks like it's comin' to an end. Da lodgin' house is only a few feet from da statue'a Horace. Come on." With that said, he sprinted across the street and right to the lodging house, flinging the door open, and waiting for Ben.  
  
Ben ran to the house, complaining, "I don't have any clothes," when he reached Racetrack.  
  
"We's probably got some dat fit ya." He looked Ben over from head to toe. "Yeah," he stated, "probably." He walked up the stairs, Ben following. He then turned the doorknob. "Ay," he greeted everyone.  
  
The room was packed with about 10 or 20 newsies. Nobody had done anything all day because of the rain. They all looked very glum. "Ay," a few replied.  
  
"Dis is Ben." Racetrack sat down on his bed, placing his elbows on his knees, and propping his head on top of his hands. "He's got no place ta stay, so I offered here, till we get him back to where he was. Right Ben?"  
  
Ben didn't seem to hear Racetrack. He was looking from eye-to-eye of each newsie. They all seemed in a state of anxiety, almost everyone in the same position as Racetrack, or playing with their fingers.  
  
A tall, brown-haired boy stood, crossing his arms. He had caramel brown eyes, and as he spoke, they turned a golden brown. "I'm Jack," he stated. He pointed to a group of newsies on the floor. "Dat's Mush, Dutchy, Bumletts, and Skittery." He pointed to 2 boys sitting on a bed beside Racetrack. "Dat's Jake and Crutchy." He went on to name a few other newsies. His tone of voice dropped and so did his head, "A few'a da guys got caught up in a big fire, mostly da kids… Maybe Race told ya… We still got der beds, but I don't tink youse should sleep in dem. Somebody can sleep on da floor, if ya want… it's…"  
  
A few of the newsies got up, walking into the bathroom area, disappearing in the stall. Racetrack stood up, wiping a tear from his eye, "Uh, youse can sleep in my bed. I'll sleep on da couch down in da lobby." Before anyone could retort, Racetrack was down the stairs.  
  
Jack reached over to a nightstand and grabbed a towel, tossing it over to Ben. "Here." He got into bed, the others doing the same.  
  
Ben swallowed a big lump down his throat, feeling out of place. "Thanks," he whispered. He dried himself quickly off and hopped right into the bed. Now, thoughts of his foster Mother filled his head. He knew she was out looking for him.  
  
READ ON! 


	2. Eating And Talking Shit. Cops.

Chapter 2  
  
"Ya damn right I'm lookin' fa my kid! What da hell would I be doin'? Huh? What the fuck is goin' on anyway? You people don't know what youse is doin'! I want you ta help me find my son! Now!" Penny Chamberson pounded her fist into the table at the police station. No one was helping her at all. There was only one person on duty, and he was a desk clerk.  
  
"I only do desk work." The man picked up a chicken leg that was placed beside some papers. He bit into it.  
  
"Desk work my ass! You're supposed to help people! Get some fucking cop out here!"  
  
"It's midnight lady. Dey's all in der beds 'cept fa me. Nobody's gonna come in fa another 3 or 4 hours. Just fuhgettaboutit." A few chunks of food came out of his mouth.  
  
"I don't beliee' dis!" Penny threw a black and white picture of Ben on the table. It was taken last year near a fishing pond. Ben was holding a giant fish and Penny was holding a big, black shoe. The cop took it in his hand and stared at it. Then he picked up a missing form and started to fill it out. "Ay!" Penny screamed, "Ya fillin' out what I look like! What the fuck is your problem? Whateva'! I'll find him myself!" She grabbed the picture from the man.  
  
"Wait! Why do you think your son would run away?" the officer asked.  
  
Penny rolled her eyes, stating, "How do I know?"  
  
"'Cause you're da Mudda'?" The man eyed the last bite of his chicken.  
  
"Well, maybe he did sumpin'…"  
  
"Did you get in a fight?"  
  
Penny shrugged. "He says I work too much, but…"  
  
The officer crossed his arms. "Where do you work?" He shoved the last bite of chicken in his mouth.  
  
"Irving Hall. I dance der." She tilted her head, making perfect eye contact with the man.  
  
His eyebrows rose and he looked down at some papers on the table, skimming through them, avoiding Penny's eyes.  
  
Penny flung her arms up and stormed out of the office. "Damn police neva' know what they's doin'!" she bellowed into the quiet, wet night.  
  
"Ya right about dat. Da bulls only eat and talk shit."  
  
"Ay." Penny stared at a young man, Racetrack. She walked past him, crying out Ben's name every few seconds.  
  
Racetrack caught up to her. "Youse lookin' fa Ben?" he inquired.  
  
"What have you done to him?" she boomed. She grabbed his collar and pulled him up.  
  
Racetrack coughed a little and stood on his tiptoes. "I… didn't do… nuttin'!" he got out.  
  
Penny dropped him. "How do you know Ben?"  
  
"I jus' met him and took him to da newsie lodgin' house. Honest. I jus' came out fa anudda' walk, hopin' ta find you. I knew somebody's be lookin' fa him," he explained.  
  
Penny dashed to the lodging house. "You know," she called back to Racetrack, "my uncle is da owner'a dis place!"  
  
Racetrack's mouth dropped and he froze. "Kloppman," he whispered. He bit his lip and went in after Penny.  
  
  
  
Read on!!!  
  
  
  
BTW: I wasn't too sure if they had police stations or what they called the police dudes, besides "da bulls!" in NEWSIES… lol… Anyway, I didn't want to give off false information. Anything else that might be wrong… I apologize. Please R & R! 


	3. The Fire And Tears.

Chapter 3  
  
Penny dashed up the stairs of the lodging house and burst through the darkness of the bedroom. She squinted, fixing her eyes to better see. Racetrack popped in behind her and lit a near-by lamp. "He's ova' der," he stated, pointing to the bump in his own bed.  
  
Penny walked quickly to the bed and grabbed at the lump. "Oh Ben! You had me so worried! I outta…" she slapped him playfully across the shoulder.  
  
"Ay! Whaddaya doin'?"  
  
Racetrack fixed his eyes. "Oops," he corrected, "dat'd be Jake." He looked around again. "Der he is."  
  
Ben was now sitting up in the bed, wiping his eyes, and yawning. "Pen---," he started.  
  
"Ben!" Penny wrapped her arms around the scrawny boy she knew as her son. "Why did ya leave like dat?"  
  
Ben scrunched up his face. "Why else?"  
  
Penny thought for a minute about what the cop had proposed. "Is it 'cause'a what I do?" she asked him.  
  
He turned away. "Maybe."  
  
"Well," she began, "I ain't gonna quit. It's too much…"  
  
"… Fun and money," Ben finished for her, "I know."  
  
Racetrack sat beside Penny. "Anyting you guys wanna talk about wit…"  
  
"No," they both said at once.  
  
Racetrack quickly got up. "Ok," he mumbled.  
  
"Look," Penny started, "I'm sorry, but how else can we live? I mean, I wouldn't wanna loose ya. And the damn foster care centa' ain't helpin' us at all. Dey's fixin' ta send ya out west somewhere wit somebody else. Can you beliee' dat?"  
  
"Away?" Ben now looked worried. He had spent a good while with this young women, who raised him, and treated him fairly, almost always letting him do as he pleased. But maybe he wanted her to be strict. Maybe he wanted the Mother who would tell him to be home early, not do drugs, drink, or fight.  
  
Penny nodded. "Dat's what I wanted ta tell youse. It ain't…"  
  
Penny was cut off by the bedroom door, which burst open loudly. "Ay! What's all da racket?" a voice bellowed. The voice came from a short, balding guy, who seemed tired and angry. His big belly pulled up most of his shirt, which reached to about his knees.  
  
"We's was goin' ta bed. You can go back down now Chuck," Jack informed, stretching and yawning a few times.  
  
"Lights went out at 9! And don't call me Chuck! Call me…"  
  
"MR. Chuck," all the tired newsies finished in unison.  
  
Jack hopped out of bed. He said, "Well, I guess dat's it Chuck, uh, Mr. Chuck. Have a great nights sleep and…"  
  
"Wait," Penny whispered. Everyone turned his attention to Penny. Her eyes were full of puzzlement as she cocked her head slightly to the side. "Where's my Uncle Kloppman?"  
  
Chuck gave a quick snigger.  
  
Jack nudged him.  
  
Racetrack sighed, grabbing Penny by the elbow and pulling her out and down the lodging house stairs, Ben following. As they started walking, Racetrack explained what had happened the evening of the fire. "It was a real boring day, as all are," he started, "We's was all in our favorite restaurant, 'Tibby's', when we saw a huge blast'a light come from a few blocks. We wanted ta have some fun so we headed towards it ta check it out." He was quiet for a minute. "Der was somethin' goin' on between some'a da younga' newsies from 'ere and some'a da older newsies from Harlem dat none'a us knew about. And we still don't. But da Harlem guys somehow got gasoline poured 'round da Manhattan Park… Dey light one match, and all da kids was trapped in der. Most'a dem panicked and tried getting' outta der. No luck. We lost some good friends..." He whispered a few names, "Snipe… Boots… Snitch… Crutchy… Dutch… Pie… Kid…" He sniffled as his eyes started to water. He went on, "Da olda' fella's had gone in afta' 'em. Dey was already gone dough." He took a deep breath. "Well, Mush was in da fire too. But he's tough. He got out. But he had some bad burns… And Kloppman helped him through it all… But… da gas was getting' tough fa Kloppman's lungs I guess and we's was all coughin' a lot'a shit. He just… I donno." His voice cracked as he added, "We lost a lot in der…"  
  
Penny bit her lip and felt the warm blood seep in between her teeth and onto her tongue, flowing down her dry throat. She nodded. "Yeah." She could feel her eyes get watery, but she held it all back. It wasn't the right time.  
  
Ben felt bad that Penny had to find out. She may not have even found out if he hadn't run away. He put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. "I'm sorry," he whispered.  
  
She shook her head. "It's OK. I understand why you did. It makes sense. What I do is wrong. But… ya know… but…" She shook her head again. "Kloppman," she whispered, "my uncle. I never really knew him. It's amazing how much people miss out on others."  
  
Racetrack took her hand and the three walked back to the lodging house together. Ben and Penny stayed the night there in Racetrack's bed, while Racetrack slept downstairs in the lobby.  
  
Late that same night, Penny woke up. It wasn't a nightmare, or Ben rustling about, she just woke up. She gingerly pulled the sheets off of her warm body and got out of the bed. She walked down the stairs, taking a cigarette and match with her. As she walked through the lobby she heard some mumbling. She squinted, listening very carefully. "No… Klopp… No… Not dem too… Their jus' lil kids…" She heard small cries. She knew who it was. It was Racetrack. She slowly searched for him, leaving the cigarette and the match she brought with her on a near-by desk.  
  
"Racetrack?" she whispered.  
  
Nothing. She still heard the cries, but she wasn't sure from where.  
  
She walked back to where she had put the match and picked it up. She quickly lit it and squinted through the light. As she began walking she felt the match start to burn and she waved the light away. "You shouldn't be walkin' 'round wit a match afta' what happened," a whisper came from the darkness.  
  
Penny swallowed deeply, afraid of the voice at first. "Sorry," she murmured. She started to wave her arms around, searching for Racetrack's voice. She found his arm. "Are you OK?" she asked him.  
  
He took a deep, quivering breath. "No."  
  
She moved her hand up to his shoulder and pulled him close, giving him a hug as he began crying in her shoulder. "I hate all'a dis!" he cried, not too loud though. "Why do people gotta die? It ain't fair!" his voice muffled in Penny's dress top.  
  
"I know," Penny whispered. She combed her fingers through his hair and Racetrack walked the two of them over to a couch near-by. They sat down and Racetrack cried some more, slowly falling asleep. Penny fell asleep with him and the two slept, hand in hand, sadly on the couch.  
  
Read on! 


	4. Sleeping Seen Differently.

Chapter 4  
  
Penny awoke with a startle. She glanced around. After a few moments she realized everything that had happened the night before, except for one thing. She rubbed her eyes and yawned a few times, forgetting that Racetrack was sleeping on her. He hopped up and made fists with his hands. "Wha'? Where?" he bellowed.  
  
Penny eyed him curiously. "Sorry," she yawned.  
  
"Oh." Racetrack kicked at the floor aimlessly. He felt awkward after what the two had gone through. "Uh, so, uh, what are you'n, uh, da kid plannin' on doin', uh, taday?" he inquired, looking at Penny's forehead instead of clicking with her eyes.  
  
"I guess dat's up ta him," she stated, getting up and fluffing her dress back out again.  
  
Racetrack now looked at Penny. "You'd give him da choice?" he asked her.  
  
She nodded.  
  
"Wow."  
  
"Wow what?" Penny asked nervously.  
  
"Well, wow. I mean, most Mudda's would want der kids ta come home, at least dat's what 'd tink." He shrugged and cleared his throat, changing the subject. "Uh, I'se got some money if ya wanna get some breakfast."  
  
Penny glanced at the tiny, dirty window that was above the large, front door. "Well, I guess we could. What time is it?" she asked.  
  
Racetrack pulled his golden pocket watch from his pocket. "Let's see. It's 6:30. Da boys should be getting' up soon."  
  
Penny twisted her arms back and cracked her back. "Sure, but I'se got money, so ya ain't gotta pay."  
  
"But I…"  
  
Before Racetrack could retort, a group of newsies came running down the stairs. "Der's da two'a dem!" Jack cried out, arms flying.  
  
Ben plodded down the creaky stairs, a frown on his face. He glared at Penny. "You're here one night and you already find a way to intertwine your work." He looked disgusted as he brushed his shoulder with hers.  
  
Penny grabbed his hand. "What?" she boomed.  
  
He cringed. "You heard me."  
  
"For your information mista' know-it-all, Race and I'se was talkin'…"  
  
"Just like everyone else starts out."  
  
Racetrack was dumbstruck. He shook his head and stated, "Ben, ya Mudda' and I… We's WAS jus' talkin'."  
  
Ben chuckled and then said with a serious frown, "She's not my 'Mudda'." He pulled away from Penny and pushed his way through the cloud of newsboys.  
  
Penny sighed and flopped down on the couch again. "I need some lessons in bein' a Mudda'," she mumbled.  
  
Racetrack motioned for Jack to go after Ben. "Will do," Jack promised, heading out the door.  
  
Racetrack flung his arm around Penny and let his arm gently drop on her shoulder. "I'se sure you'se is a great Mudda'. You'se let Benny-boy do all he wants, which is what kids dese days need."  
  
Penny chuckled, "Right. All us parent need is our kids out in da streets startin' trouble wit da bulls."  
  
"Well, you'se is a good Mudda', so shuddup." Racetrack stared at Penny's long, blonde hair and then turned her towards him, starring deeply into her green eyes. "Why don't ya do sumpin' about bein' a Mudda' den if you'se is complainin'?" he inquired.  
  
"Yeah right…"  
  
"Nah, for real, I…"  
  
Penny shot him a "look" and bellowed, "No, you don't understand. You'se is still a kid yaself!"  
  
Racetrack looked hurt, but stated, "We's all kids inside." He took her hand and patted it, then stood up, and walked out the front door to catch up to Jack, and talk to Ben. Race, being 25, the same age as Penny, always got the same response about everything. He may have looked younger, but he was older than some of the people he had met in his past times in Manhattan. But he could deal. He didn't know if he could from Penny though, since he was thinking of asking her to go for a walk. 'She'll prolly tink I'm too much of a baby ta go out wit,' he thought.  
  
More to come! 


End file.
